Here's how to do it: For every pound of potatoes in your mash, drizzle 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the dish and fold it gently into the potatoes. If the mash is still too gluey for your liking, repeat the process with another tablespoon of butter. It's that easy!
Too much starch is what makes mashed potato gluey and ruins its fluffy texture. If you want to keep your mashed potatoes from getting gummy the best way to do this is using a potato ricer. Otherwise, you can still make classic fluffy mashed potatoes without a ricer by using a Food Mill instead.
When too much starch gets released, the potatoes become gummy, gluey, and unappetizing. Overworking the potatoes can happen in a couple ways: either by simply handling them too much, or by using a food processor, blender, or similar tool, which mixes the potatoes too aggressively.
The trick to the most fluffy mashed potatoes is to add a leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. Just a pinch of baking powder added to the drained, cooked potatoes can help make them so fluffy. Make sure that your baking powder is fresh (check the expiration date!).
You can use what you have on hand: Flour, cornstarch, or powdered milk are all solid options that are probably already in your pantry. Potato flour and potato starch would work as well. Stir in the thickening agent gradually, about a tablespoon at a time, until the potatoes have reached your desired consistency.
Use heat to evaporate the excess milk
If you don't have any thickening agent, the next best thing to to remove the milk using heat. You can use a large shallow baking pan and spread out the mash potatoes. Put it in the oven under low heat. You can stir it every 30 mins.
If you've been adding too much milk or butter, try cutting back to achieve the perfect consistency. Let your mashed potatoes sit for a few minutes before serving. As they cool, they will thicken up slightly.
As already discussed, pastiness is caused by too much potato starch being worked into the mashed potatoes. The main way we combat this problem is by rinsing away starch, both before and after cooking potatoes for fluffy mashed potatoes. Rinsing off starch means that there is less of it that can end up in the dish.
Add a Leavening Ingredient
Baking soda needs to be combined with an acidic ingredient of some kind (buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, yogurt) to create carbon dioxide, a gas that emits small bubbles and makes the goods fluffy.
Warm Heavy Cream – gives mashed potatoes a super creamy consistency. Butter (room temperature) – adds flavor and creaminess. Cream Cheese (room temperature) – adds rich, tangy flavor and smoothness. Cream of Tartar – makes mashed potatoes smooth and fluffy and helps achieve almost a meringue-like consistency.
But the most essential suggestion, per Bon Appétit, is always to salt the water you are boiling your mashed potatoes in. It acts as pre-seasoning, and Bon Appétit recommends adding a full cup of kosher salt to the boiling water.
Once mashed potatoes reach the glue stage, there's no going back. Your potatoes may taste fine, but the thick, gloppy texture could be more than your guests can stomach.
If they're undercooked, you'll have pockets of crispy potato chunks-—a big no-no for classic fluffy mashed potatoes. If you overcook them they disintegrate and your potatoes will be soupy.
Another tip that we've used before is to set your bowl of potatoes over a pot of simmering water, just like a double boiler. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap or (our choice) a dish towel. Give it a stir every 15 minutes or so to keep the mixture well-heated.
The best potatoes to use for mashed potatoes are Russet potatoes or Idaho potatoes because of their high starch content. Yukon gold potatoes are another good option, the texture of Yukon gold is a bit more buttery and not quite as starchy.
Tips for the Best Mashed Potatoes
Start cooking the potatoes in cold water: This ensures that the potatoes cook evenly. Otherwise, if you start with hot or boiling water, the outsides of the potatoes cook and soften while the middles are still hard and crunchy.
The yolk emulsifies water and fat to create a cohesive, velvety bite, while providing a little fat and body of its own. You can add an egg yolk to nearly any existing mashed potato recipe.
One of the starch molecules in potatoes is called amylose, which is responsible for making mashed potatoes "gluey" and pasty. Rinsing or soaking cut raw potatoes helps to wash away a very small amount of amylose.
Don't over-mixing: I can't say it enough, DON'T mash the potatoes to much! As you mix potatoes it causes them to release their starch, which is necessary for creamy mashed potatoes, but too much mixing releases too much starch, and causes thick and gluey mashed potatoes.
Rinsing potatoes helps remove excess starch, so it is recommended to rinse the potatoes before cooking. To ensure even more starch is out of the way, it's recommended that they even be quickly rinsed after boiling. We recommend using hot water for rinsing after boiling and cold water prior to boiling.
Adding additional liquid, such as milk, plant-based milk, or vegetable broth can also help by keeping the potatoes from drying out. To reheat mashed potatoes in the oven: Place your leftover mashed potatoes in an oven-safe dish. Stir in melted butter, melted vegan butter, or oil and milk/cream, vegan milk, or broth.
Flour, on the other hand, can sometimes give potatoes a chalky taste/texture. To use a thickening agent to thicken mashed potatoes, simply add just one tablespoon at a time until you've reached your desired consistency. Heat in a Pot – Place thin mashed potatoes in a pot over medium heat and stir every minute or so.
How Long to Boil Potatoes. The cooking time is going to come down to size — whether your potatoes are large or small, cubed or whole. In general cubed or small potatoes will take about 10 to 15 minutes to boil, while larger, whole potatoes will take between 20 to 25 minutes.
Do not add cold milk or cream to the pot of piping hot potatoes. Not only will this cool the dish down, but the cold liquid will not absorb into the hot potatoes very well. Warm the liquid in a saucepan on the stovetop or in a glass measuring cup in the microwave.